Bhubaneswar: Police officials in the city are adopting a novel trick which will ultimately compel the complainants to go in for compromise with the very accused.
The police officials have been advising the accused to file counter-complaints against the complainants which would force the victim to yield to a mutual settlement.
Two women had recently alleged that police were putting undue pressure on them to surrender to a compromise with the accused in two separate cases of assault. They claimed the police had called for counter-complaints from the accused so that an amicable settlement could be reached.
Some rivals had assaulted Rinarani Sahu of Kalinga slum under Badagada police limits recently in which Sahu sustained multiple injuries. She had visited Badagada police station to file a complaint.
The police, however, did not accept her petition. They allegedly misbehaved with her when she pressed for a case. “An official of Badagada police told me that he had torn my complaint. He dared me to go to the DCP’s office or commissioner’s over the issue,” Sahu averred.
A few cops, however, had visited Sahu’s house and assured her of action against the accused after some papers reported the incident. Police had registered a case against the attackers, sources said.
Subsequently, police informed Sahu the accused had lodged a counter complaint against her. “Now the police are putting pressure on me to settle the issue amicably. They are even threatening me to get ready for imprisonment if there is no mutual settlement in the case. I will soon raise the issue with the police commissioner,” Sahu said. Badagada police station in-charge Suvendu Sinha said both the parties had lodged complaints following the incident. “There was a scuffle between Sahu’s family members and some of her neighbours. We are investigating the incident,” he said.
In another incident, some miscreants March 25 hurled casteist remarks at Basanti Mallick of Shantipalli slum and attacked her over a past rivalry. Mallick approached Sahid Nagar police to lodge a complaint, but the police did not accept her complaint.
“Police, on the other hand, have accepted a complaint from the attackers. They are advising me to agree to a compromise formula,” Mallick alleged.
Sahid Nagar police in-charge Kishore Chandra Mund, however, feigned ignorance about anyone from Shantipalli visiting the police station. An insider, however, claims that police insist on mediating between the parties in the hope of making a quick buck from the accused. “They put undue pressure on the complaints by accepting counter-plaints from the criminals,’’ he said.
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